Saudi Arabia press Iran to change regional policy

2 years ago

The Saudi foreign minister urged Iran on Monday to change its policy in the region, warning that Riyadh would use “all its power” to counter what country he denounced as a “settler state”.

“We hope that Iran will change its policy and give up its interference in the affairs of states in the region, including Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen,” said Adel Jubeir at a press conference with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The German minister is visiting Riyadh as part of a tour that has taken him earlier in Tehran. Iran and Saudi Arabia are the two main rival powers in the region. Mr. Jubeir added that “it is difficult to have positive relationships” with Tehran “as Saudi Arabia and its people are the target of continuous aggression.”

Iran, a “colonial state”

“We are anxious to deal with any Iranian actions and shall make use of all our political power, economic and military to defend our territory and our people, “he warned. It was in this context denounced Iran as “a settler state” in Syria, calling upon the Islamic Republic to “withdraw (his men) of Syria to stop supplying weapons to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and remove Shiite militias, such as Hezbollah (Lebanese) that it has deployed in Syria. ” Otherwise, “it is difficult (Iran) can play a role” in resolving the Syrian crisis, concluded the Saudi minister, whose country supports the Syrian opposition fighting the regime in Damascus, which is supported by Tehran.